A chicken egg is a chicken egg, and all chicken eggs of the world are the same, right? If that’s true, then how do you go about marketing YOUR eggs as being better or different than those other guys’ eggs?

For one thing, there is some differentiation between factory eggs, organic eggs, free range eggs, pasture-raised eggs and more. Personally, I like the pasture-raised eggs. It means the chickens get to roam outside like they’re supposed to, unlike “free range” which just means they’re free to walk around inside an overcrowded building full of chickens.

In my grocery store I have several options for pasture-raised eggs, and yet I always choose the same brand without even considering the rest. Is it because these eggs are cheaper? Nope. Is the egg carton better looking? Maybe, but that’s not why...

Marketers, this is where you might want to pay close attention...

The one and only reason I choose this particular brand of pasture-raised eggs over all the others is because in each carton they enclose a tiny 2-page newsletter. This is a single piece of paper approximately 4.25” x 3” or 10.5cm x 8cm. This miniature newsletter is called the “Vital Times” complete with Volume # and Issue #.

The headline on the issue I’m looking at right now reads, “Girls on Grass – and Gratitude.” The article is about ‘the girls’, with girls being chickens, and how they get to spend their day. Here are excerpts...

For Vital Farms hens, this year has been awesome. Sunshine? Check. Pastures? Check. Dust bathing with friends. Check, check, check. Our girls wake up ready to explore... What are we thankful for in this crazy, crazy year? It’s pretty simple. You.

You wrote thank you - more than 5,000! - to celebrate the work of farmers and crew. You invested in our company and our vision. You inspired our front line to keep working through the long days and nights...

The newsletter goes on to praise their customers for the many things they are doing during the pandemic and then brings it back to how the customers make it possible for the ‘girls’ (chickens) to enjoy the simple pleasures.

Finally, it closes with a brief message of home and gratitude along with a photo of several chickens against a blue sky with green grass and the words “thank you”.

On the opposite side of the newsletter are...

•     A chicken cartoon in which one chicken is painting the barn wall, and a second chicken asks, “Is that beige?” To which the first chicken replies, “Don’t be silly, it’s eggshell.”

The lesson here is humor doesn’t have to be stellar to still be appreciated, since finding almost any chicken cartoon in your carton of